In the two-point stance (figure 2.2), or up stance, stand with both feet on the ground and your hands resting on your thighs. The two-point stance is the most common stance used by running backs today.

Whether you’re a power back who muscles the ball across the goal line or an ankle-breaking open-field specialist making defenders miss, you’ll improve your game with Tim Horton, running backs coach at Auburn University. Featuring 81 of the most effective drills, Complete Running Back is the ideal resource for players and coaches.

There is nothing more exciting than watching a skilled running back sidestep a tackler, hit an open hole in the line, pivot, turn, and accelerate up the field for a huge gain. It’s a position that many have played but few have excelled in. And not one has succeeded alone.

Complete Running Back will help you step onto the field with the skills to thrill and knowledge to succeed. Tim Horton, running backs coach to Tre Mason, Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Knile Davis, shares his expertise, insights, and advice for becoming an every-down threat.

You’ll learn to think, move, and play with a purpose. With 81 drills and coaching tips, you’ll master the intricacies of these skills:

Ball protection

Open-field running

Short-yardage running

Blocking

Pass catching

Complete with mental strategies, game preparation, in-game adjustments, and programming for increasing strength, power, speed, and agility, Complete Running Back is your guide to maximizing potential and performance of the sport’s most important positions.

Contents

Preface
Key to Diagrams

Chapter 1. The Complete Back
Chapter 2. Stances, Footwork, and Ball Security
Chapter 3. Running in the Open Field
Chapter 4. Blocking
Chapter 5. Catching Passes Out of the Backfield
Chapter 6. Developing Power and Strength
Chapter 7. Developing Speed and Agility
Chapter 8. Preparing for the Game
Chapter 9. Championship Mind-Set

About the Author

Tim Horton, running backs coach for Auburn University, is an SEC veteran who helped the Tigers to a 2013 SEC Championship and a BCS Championship berth. The Tigers led the nation with 328.3 yards rushing per game in 2013.

Under Horton, running backs Tre Mason, Cameron Artis-Payne, Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Knile Davis have rushed for 1,000-yard seasons. As finalists for the Heisman Trophy, both Mason and McFadden were recognized among college football’s finest players. McFadden, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back.

Before coming to Auburn, Horton spent six successful seasons in a similar capacity at the University of Arkansas, where he was also the Razorbacks recruiting coordinator. He was recognized by Rivals.com and ESPN.com as one of the nation's top recruiters during his tenure at Arkansas and was one of just two coaches in the nation to coach four different 1,000-yard rushers from 2007 to 2010. Under his watch, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones earned All-American honors, while Dennis Johnson and Knile Davis earned All-SEC honors.

Horton served as offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at the Air Force (2007), running backs coach at Kansas State (2006) where he coached future NFL running backs Thomas Clayton and James Johnson, and running backs (2005) and wide receivers coach (1999-2004) at the Air Force. He began his coaching career at Appalachian State in 1990 and helped guide the Mountaineers to a 67-32 record during his eight years. As a player at Arkansas, Horton was a four-year letterman and three-year starter at split end and punt returner.